Soft Drinks Soft Drinks

Refreshing chilled beverages, including sodas, sparkling water, and iced tea.

George V at Ashford Castle

George V at Ashford Castle

Ashford Castle Cong, Co. Mayo F31 CA48, F31 XD56, Congleton, United Kingdom

Pizza • Irish • Seafood • European


"TL/DR: Bland, ‘old’ food. Interesting history. Sits on gorgeous castle grounds. NOT worth the price. Service team beholden to old ideas and traditions inconsistent with the needs of the modern dining experience. Let me admit a few things: 1) I’m an American and due to our history, I have developed a more sensitive radar to help recognize when my white privilege and colonialism are being put on a pedestal. 2) I don’t know a lot about the history there, why certain traditions have been preserved at George V, and I don’t pretend to know how the staff feel about working there. I bought a book on Ireland’s history to better understand the complicated relationship between Ireland and the crown. 3) I get it, it’s a restaurant review, not a history book. But when you name a place after a former king, we naturally get here. The quick and dirty becuase I have minimal characters left: the grounds are gorgeous the restaurant was built for George V and man does it feel and taste like it is deliberately maintaining old preparation techniques and ideas yikes the food was not good. It just wasn’t. It’s not the service team’s fault, but someone in charge who is choosing to hold on to a boring, outdated menu catering to old, rich white people (small changes could have made the meal interesting and like it belongs in 2022) the only diversity present was among the service team. It’s cringey as a diner. multiple people served us in a disconnected way: the person who sat us took our order (which confused another person), someone else spoke to us about wine and couldn’t answer other questions, someone else served it, and none of those were our main server I left this experience feeling disappointed and confused. How much of my experience is white guilt vs real restaurant problems? Should a restaurant rooted in royal history consider their representation of colonialism in 2022 a real restaurant problem? I absolutely think so."

La Dogana del Buongusto

La Dogana del Buongusto

Via Molino delle Armi 48MI 20123, Milano, United Kingdom

Wine • Fish • Pasta • Italian


"We were in town for a conference and bagged on the plenaryreception to have a real dinner. This was close and got great reviews. First of all, the positive reviews already on this site are correct: it is a splendid little restaurant, with a creative menu and a very fine wine list. Because we had food that was a bit challenging to pick wines for my wife had the smoked duck and schnitzel, while I had the rabbit terrine and a schnitzel with saffroned risotto; we were at loggerheads about whether to get a red or a white, with me thinking that a sturdy north Italian white would be the better bet, we consulted the staff who served up a very fine Dolcetto, which worked very well.We arrived at early for Italy, and by the time our mains arrived, all the tables were filled. The noise level was OK and we could maintain a nice conversation without needing to raise our voices.The staff was very kind and considerate, but they appeared to be a bit shortstaffed for the Friday night crowd. The wine recommendation came minutes after our request for a consult. And my Borolobased dessert wine with bitters, yum! didn't arrive with dessert. In fact, I asked after it and it still did not arrive. Only when our staff was tallying up our bill was the mistake realized and they rushed the glass out to me. I'm glad they did. I think part of the problem is that a back waiter took the dessert order and it appears to have slid sideways. My Italian is virtually nonexistant although his English was a bit better. One can't really complain when dining on someone else's turf. The only real fault is that the staff was a bit frantic although very goodnatured.Excellent dinner"